Werewolf Boyfriend Rudolf 2 (rough draft)

The morning is crisp and cold as I make my way downtown towards Süßsauer Candy Store. My heart is beating fast as I’m excited to see Rudolf. He’s promised to show me all the special candy he’s created with my diabetes in mind.

I round the corner to the stairs in the back, and at the top platform, I see Rudolf waiting. He’s turned to the side, looking down the opposite street. He’s wearing a dark green sweater and, from the looks of it, he’s been outside waiting for a while.

His head turns suddenly and he looks down at me. A great big smile blossoms on his face, and if he was in his werewolf form, I swear his tail would be wagging. I climb the stairs, meeting his tight embrace.

We had seen each other just the night before, but he hugged me like it had been another round of decades between us. He’s warm and smells like vanilla and chocolate.

“Come on in,” He opens the door, leading me into his apartment. “I’ve got coffee ready if you’d like some.” He goes over to the french press sitting on the counter, pouring a big cup of black brew.

“How do you take it?” He asks me.

“Just black,” I answer, holding my hands out.

The look on his face is priceless. He looks offended, even a little confused. He’s probably thinking “who in their right mind drinks coffee black?” as he hands the cup to me.

I take it and sip it. “This is really good!” I gasp.

“It’s a brand my moms like,” Rudolf replies. He makes his own cup of coffee and sits down at the table with me. I notice there is a notebook sitting out that is overstuffed. It looks well worn and has tape covering the spine.

“Is this your recipe book?” I touch it and Rudolf scoots it away.

“Not for prying eyes,” he says to me. “How do I know you’re not going to sell my secrets away to the highest bidder?”

I giggle and smirk at him. “What? Like I’m Slugworth or something?”

Rudolf grins at me. “For all I know, you might be!”

“Wonka and Slugworth were working together in the end,” I toss at him. 

Rudolf then shrugs and sighs. “Still, how do I know I can trust you? After all these years? For all I know, right after I left, you were taken in by a den of conglomerate candy makers and trained up to steal all my ideas and recipes for them.”

I look at him, cocking my head to the side while he grins. “If I paid you to say that again, could you?”

“No,” Rudolf shakes his head. “But even still, you can’t see this book.” He picks it up and clutches it to his chest. “Most of these aren’t ready or even tested. I don’t want you to see something and get your hopes up.” 

“Well, what do you have for me today?” I ask.

“Good question,” he stands up and offers me his hand. “We’ll have to go downstairs for that.”

I take his hand, enjoying the way he laces his fingers with mine. He takes me downstairs, leading me through a hidden door in the wall and down into the kitchen of his candy shop. 

“The gummy bears I spilled last night were the first one,” he huffs. “Unfortunately, I spilled those everywhere.” He pulls out a tray from one of the tall cooling racks. He lays it down on the counter and lets me look over what is there.

Each corner has a different set of candy. One looks like caramels, the other looks like glossy hard candies, and then there are two types of chocolate.

“I came up with this one when I was trying to figure out the recipe for wolf’s milk,” he says, picking up one of the caramels.

“Wolf’s milk?” I ask.

Rudolf nods. “It’s something my mom started working on ages ago. When I was first born, I started shifting really early and it caused me a lot of discomfort. She noticed that there were several other babies dealing with the same thing, so she wanted to create a special drink or food for were pups suffering from early shifting.” He motions over to the freezer. “We’ve perfected a formula and she’s started giving it to new mothers in Hearthway Hollow. We get orders for it from all over the world now.”

“That’s amazing!” I gasp.

“It’s pretty good in milkshakes too,” he chuckles then offers me the caramel. “This, however, was one of the failures, but it turned out to be an amazing base for diabetes safe caramels. I put a touch of sea salt on top to counterbalance the sweetness of it.”

“Oh, so like, every coffee house?” I ask and he pops the candy into my mouth.

“You’re getting free candy, don’t sass me.” Rudolf pouts.

I smirk, letting the caramel go soft on my tongue. It’s creamy and rich, like drinking heavy cream straight from the carton.

“Oh my god,” I gasp.

Rudolf smirks, arching his brow. “Good?” He tilts his head. “Would you even put it in your coffee?”

I glare at him. “Is it so wrong I like my coffee black?” I ask as I swallow down the caramel. 

“Just poking,” he then offers up one of the glossy candies. “I remember that you used to like sour stuff,” he replies. “Like, you’d eat those awul crab apples for no reason.”

“I stand by that they were good,” I huff.

He gives me a green one and, to my surprise, it’s not hard, but almost like a gel. Not exactly a gummy and not really jelly. It melts almost instantly on my tongue, swirling from sweet to sour.

Rudolf grins as he watches my face. “This will probably never see the light of day,” he tells me. “It’s pretty hard to make, and if it sits out too long, it melts. So you’re the only one to try this.”

He offers me a red one and I eagerly eat it. “What are you? A mad scientist?”

“Something like that,” he grins. “Now, these chocolates, I think, will be better than sex.”

I grimace and Rudolf furrows his brow slightly. “What’s with that look?” He asks.

I shake my head. “I honestly wouldn’t know if it’s better than sex,” I admit to him with a half hearted shrug. “Considering I’ve never had it.”

Rudolf looks at me, a confused look on his face. “Really?”

I sigh, looking down at the counter and I fiddle with the tissue paper there. “I’ve never had sex,” I admit. “Honestly, it’s not a concern of mine if I ever have it.” I screw my mouth up into a tight line.

“Oh,” Rudolf gasps, sounding pleasantly surprised. “Are you asexual?” He asks.

I look up at him seeing a gentle smile on his face. I nod, feeling a tad less anxious. “Yeah. I am. If that changes anything, I-” he places the chocolate on my tongue.

“I’m asexual too,” he confesses. “I was worried about telling you. I mean, I’ve had sex a few times, but it’s not really my cup of tea. For you, I would have done it.”

I smile up at him. “Then maybe the chocolate will be our sex.”

Rudolf grimaces and scoffs. “Don’t say that, ever. Never ever.” He dips down, kissing me softly. “But was it good?” He asks.

I giggle and nod. “Extremely good,” I reply. 

“The other ones have the caramel in the center,” he says. “I can bag these all up for you, and when I get the chance to, I’ll make you another batch of those gummy bears.”

“You’re still going to court me?” I ask. “You might as well go ahead and just scent me now. No need to go through the whole thing.”

Rudolf smirks. “You’d let me rub myself all up on you? Right here? In front of my candy?” He motions to the display case.

“Of course not. You’re far too hairy for that,” I take hold of his hand again, lacing my fingers with his and giving his palm a squeeze.

After sampling the candy, Rudolf takes me back upstairs. “I have something else I want to show you.” He takes a shoebox down from the bookshelf and brings it over to the table. 

“I’ve kept this for a long time,” he admits. He opens the box and inside, are all my letters. Small scraps of paper from notes passed in class. Silly old valentine’s day cards. 

“I couldn’t bear to part with any of them,” he murmurs. He then takes out the small, handmade bracelet, the ends of it are frayed and broken. It looks like it had fallen to pieces and he tried to fix it.

I sniffle and wipe tears from my eyes.

“What’s wrong?” Rudolf asks.

I shake my head. “Nothing,” I laugh. “I have a box just like this at home,” I beam at him. “I kept every letter too. Every silly note and every card you sent me when I had to go to the hospital.” I laugh and tug him close, kissing him. 

I then press my forehead to his. “I thought I was the weird one.”

“No,” he murmurs. “We both are.”

Rudolf takes me home that evening. The square is all lit up with a canopy of lights overhead. Heathway Hollow is getting ready for the Harvest festival and store fronts and buildings are all decorated. 

Big Billy had started the festival when I was in middle school and it has grown so much since then. It’s now an event that takes over the entire town, causing decoration contests, cooking contests, and all sorts of events that went on the entire week. Money from the event went to a different charity each year, and Big Billy would even match the proceeds from his own pocket.

“It’s amazing how much things change,” Rudolf murmurs. “And yet, this place feels exactly the same as when we were kids.”

“It’s a little different,” I reply. “There’s more life here. There’s more people. When we were kids this place was barely on the map. Now, every time I turn a corner, there’s so many people.”

“Some might say that’s a curse,” Rudolf murmurs.

“For here, and for what it was created for, it’s a blessing,” I murmur. “Considering that werewolves all over are still in hiding and feral. This place is a refuge.”

Rudolf sighs. “Back in Germany, we lived in a small community sort of like here. Only it was much more closed off,” he replies. “Back during the second world war, our kind were hunted down. Those of us they could break were used as weapons or worse,” he murmurs. “So we hid ourselves away. We were secluded and we ostracized humans. The people were kind, but it wasn’t the happy place the Hollow is.”

I squeeze his hand tight as we continue our walk. Once we get to my house, he removes his sweater and scarf, shifting before me into his werewolf form. He dips his head down, rubbing his cheek to mine.

“Right here?” I ask.

He chuckles. “You said I might as well do it.” He rubs his face against me, scenting me all over. Once he’s done, he picks up his clothes and walks me to the door. 

“Come by the shop tomorrow, my moms would love to see you again.” Rudolf murmurs.

I stand on tip toe, giving him a soft kiss. “I will. I’d love to see them too.”

Rudolf dashes off and I head inside. Just as I’m getting settled, there’s a knock on the door. When I answer, I find Canvas standing there.

“What’re you doing here?” I ask him.

“I got into a fight with Winnie,” he grumbles, keeping his head down.

I sigh and let him inside. As he walks passed me he looks at me and furrows his brow. “You smell like chocolate,” he says.

I blush and look aside. “Do I? Must be my perfume or something.”

Canvas eyes me and watches me as I go into the kitchen. “No, it’s not!” He suddenly grins. “You and Rudolf finally got back together, right?”

I cut a glare at him and he quiets down, but his grin doesn’t go anywhere. “He scented me before you got here,” I admit. 

“That’s great!” Canvas exclaims. “I was hoping you two would get back together once you came back home.” He sits down at the counter while I make a pot of coffee. He notices the bag of candy on the table and opens it, stealing a few pieces from inside.

“Does that mean we get a family discount at the shop now?” Canvas asks.

I snatch my candy away from him and pop his hand. “I dunno,” I tell him. “You’re going to have to ask him that.” I then sigh and look at him. “So what are you and Winnie fighting about?”

Canvas looks down at the counter and then sighs. “Winnie’s pregnant.”

If it was possible, my eyes would have popped out of my head. “What?” I gasp.

Canvas has tears in his eyes. “I got scared about it and I kind of said the wrong thing,” he rubs at his eyes. “Then Mrs. Locklear kicked me out of the house.”

“Oh, you fucked up,” I sigh.

“Yeah, I really did!” Canvas whines. “And my ass hurts from where Mrs. Locklear kicked me.”

I pick up my phone and send Rudolf a quick text. “I’ll see if Rudolf can put together what might make Mrs. Locklear let you back into the house.”

“Really?” Canvas sniffles.

“I’ll call Winnie too,” I tell him. “See if she’ll talk to me.”

A few moments later, Rudolf is back at the house, carrying a big bag full of Mrs. Locklear’s favorite chocolate. I’ve also managed to calm down Winnie and I’m going over to their house to get Canvas back inside.

“So uhm-” Rudolf murmurs as I drive to the house near the lake. “How bad is what you said?” he asks Canvas. “On a scale of you’ll laugh about it later to Jurassic Park and we’ll just leave the dinosaurs on the island?”

“The Jurassic Park one,” Canvas grumbles.

When we drive up to the house, Mrs. Locklear is sitting on the porch. She stands up and walks down and stands at the foot of the stairs. I approach first and she sighs.

“You always did have to clean up for your cousins,” she murmurs.

“Yeah,” I tilt my head to my shoulder. I then offer up the bag of candy and she takes it, stepping aside to let us onto the porch.

Canvas flinches when Mr. Locklear moves and when we step into the house, Winnie is sitting by the fire. She looks up at us then looks away. Canvas goes and sits down beside her.

“What you said really hurt,” she grumbles.

“I know,” he whispers. “And I am really sorry.”

I glance over to Rudolf and we step back outside while the two talk. Mrs. Locklear is already halfway through a chocolate bar as we go to sit with her.

“They’ll work it out,” I tell her.

She nods. “I know they will,” she replies. “Canvas is just stupid.”

I chuckle and lean back as Rudolf puts his arm around me.

Mrs. Locklear points at us. “You two? Already?” She then grins. “Good. I won that bet with Billy.”

I glance up at Rudolf and he shrugs. “It was kind of an instant thing.”

“Sometimes, that’s all it takes,” Mrs. Locklear winks at us. “I remember when I met my wife. It was an instant like that. I saw her and I knew, all at once what I wanted in my life. It was like she was the last puzzle piece in an over complicated puzzle.” She then chuckles and glances to Rudolf.

“Speaking of which, how are your moms doing?” She asks.

Rudolf chuckles. “They’re just fine.”

About an hour later, Canvas and Winnie walk out onto the porch. “We’re going to the courthouse,” Canvas says. “We’re going to go get married, who wants to watch?”

Mrs. Locklear jumps up. “You’re the first Locklear to ever get a legal marriage!” She gasps. “Is this how you want to do it?”

Winnie laughs and wipes tears from her eyes. “We decided to use the wedding money for the baby,” she replies. “We’re going to take the honeymoon as soon as we can.”

I glance at Rudolf and chuckle. “Did you think you’d be seeing a wedding today?” I ask.

“Not really,” He replies. “Daydreaming of one, maybe.”

We follow Winnie and Canvas to the courthouse where they get a quick marriage. Rudolf and I sign the marriage license and then we go celebrate at Winnie’s favorite restaurant. 

Afterwards, it’s pretty late so Rudolf crashes at my house. I wake up in the morning, strong arms wrapped around me. The room smells like cookies baking in the oven, but it’s all Rudolf. He pulls me close, nuzzling his face into my hair.

“You smell good,” he grumbles.

I giggle, “you’re the one who is making everything smell like candy.” I roll over and nuzzle to his chest. I’ve never had a good morning cuddle before, but this makes the wait worth it.

Rudolf yawns and rubs his cheek to the top of my head. “I smell like candy?”

I laugh and kiss him softly. “What time do you have to be at the shop?” I ask. “I’ll make you breakfast.”

“As long as you don’t make my coffee,” he stretches and his back pops. “I actually should probably make a mad dash there before my moms call me screaming.” He sits up and rubs his eyes as he picks up his phone. “Oh,” he gasps.

I yawn. “Oh what?”

“It’s only three.” He tackles me and wraps us up in the blanket like a cocoon. “I’ve got two hours,” he says. 

I wrap my arms around him and smile, enjoying his warmth as we lay back down to snuggle. Even if the scent of candy is making me hungry.